Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Robert Frost's poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

250 Comments

The poet in Frost rises into mystic state while picturing the bewitching beauty of the woods that responds to the senses of the eye and the ear and transcends to the dark and deep world of imaginary falsification .
The apparent world is a world of temptation and it often leads the viewer to the involvement and consumption .Most of us fall victim to the apparent beauty or handsomeness , forgetting the purpose of life
that that remains in one’s self-less activities of good deeds .
The dictate of conscience must be obeyed and in that
the greater -self persists us in continuing the profitless service to all ,-man and animal .
Frost certainly had the glimpse of the living soul and his true dwelling was by its side .The subtle senses in man come out from within only when non attachment with gross senses no longer are force-fully active . Hence the crossing the bar between life and death the soul enjoys its blissful rest .
subrata ray .Mousumipara .Uluberia .West. Bengal .India .

Robert Frost , through his little-spanned poem Stopping By the Woods on Snowy Evening, has done the marvel on human principle of deeds and romantic fascination .The poem goes to a deeper level of human psychology .For ,temptation and feasting senses often cause our downfall .
We may enjoy the beauty of a girl , or nature , but not at the cost of our work .
Subrata Ray .Uluberia West Bengal.India .

Frost talks about seeing something from afar that intrigues him as if the falling snow is the vehicle that conveys the thought he is promoting. The deep dark woods on an evening speak more to the fullness of life in a natural setting that is beset with the glory of a filling of wonder or snow. He speaks to the owner being afar and not being able to appreciate the beauty of his possession denotes the pleasures that people forego to achieve a place in society. He speaks to the darkest evening of the year and this pertains to a dark and devious day or night in his life and the hardship of moving forward. It is easier to stop and stay than to move forward and stay among the living.
The promises to keep are the commitments he has made to others that cannot be thrown aside for the simple task of dying and staying where there is comfort, beauty and a desire to be among the trees in the dark, deep woods where the downy flakes cover the harsh ground with clean, fluffy flakes that cover all ugliness that was once there. His thoughts wander as he sits atop his stead thinking of the things he would rather do than to move forward but the horse jingles his bells to awaked the rider to the need to move forward rather than to be claimed by the cold and the land.

The poem is about someone who wants to be in heaven and is thinking about his afterlife. he wants to die now but he has miles and miles to go before he sleeps, and has promises to keep. Frost is probably using figurative language to describe someone in a cementary, visiting

I’ve recently read some critique about this poem which says that you cannot know which more important thing is, enjoying being in the woods or keeping social promoises. I think Frost wanted to make us decide the priority for ourselves. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I’m sure that this poem deeply impressed me and other people around the world.

Hi! I’m currently taking up Bachelor of Science in Nursing in a prestigious school in the Philippines but we have this minor subject, english literaures of the world.

This masterpiece poem of Frost simply states that the speaker or the writer is in a dilemma because as stated in the poem, he said that the owner of this village wont see him if he will just stay for a while because he was tempted to stay here but a long journey awaits him. The speaker is bemused if he’s gonna stay or not because he has a promise to be kept and that is to return in reality, the world of man, the civilization and this nature represents a wish to die because its lovely, dark, and deep.

Frankly speaking, I do’nt know what feelings the writer want to express.I even don’t know who he is,because i come from china. But i know that this is a very beautiful poem, and i consider that the writer understands life better than most of the other people.

as i read this poem i think this is an interpretation of R. Frost’s strong belief in God. The word “He” in the poem is referring to God. and the line “he will not see me stopping here, to watch his woods fill up with snow” means that as a human being the trials that come into his way will not be a cause for him to stop living and believing. “the woods are lovely, dark and deep, but i have promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep, and miles to go before i sleep” means that life is so beautiful, full of trials and hindrances that may test our belief in Him. but i have promises to keep–to live and survive the trials that he may give me… because these trials are the things that will teach me to be strong and be humane.

Was beautiful out feeding tonight. There was a snow squall that dropped about half an inch in 5-10 minutes. Covered the cattle, the calves, the corral, the countryside, and my coat. Then the clouds scattered and raced each other across the sky. They caused a natural strobe-light effect alternately illuminating and hiding the livestock, the snowcovered fields, woods and branches, as they passed in front of the nearing-full-moon. I leaned against a round bale and listened to the concert of a dozen contented cows agresssively munching hay. They were accompanied by the faint humming of a far-off airplane and the soft, low, bass-drumming of the natural gas compressor engines at the McWhorter and the Lightburn Stations, a few miles distant. The four new calves, with bellies full of warm milk, danced through the hay I had spread along the fence, limboed under the ‘lectric fence into the lane, then do-sah-doed among the round bales stored under the hemlock tree. The huge ancient double-trunked hemlock that had sheltered multiple generations and species of birds, livestock, wildlife, and my ancestors just as it sheltered me and the calves now by bowing its boughs under a burden of snow like a hen bowing her wings to shelter a cluster of chicks.

No sirens, no horns, no stereos blasting as there were no cars on the roads. No dirt bikes, weedeaters, lawnmowers nor chainsaws. A soothing sound far different than a live band at a local gig who think music must be loud to be good. They turn the volume up so much that you can’t hear the music or the words. No drunks yelling obscenities. Not a human voice to be heard. I didn’t want to go back in just to face the eleven o’clock news.

I thought of Robert Frost who said, in Stopping by Woods on a Winter Evening, “But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” I thought of the travelers in that far off airplane and the miles they had made the commitment to go, to go to keep the various promises they had made. They chose freely to go but were now prisoners in that plane; prisoners self-sentenced to their cell for the duration of the flight to their destination with no escape but through their thoughts and the comforts within the confines of the cabin. If they only knew what I had they might want to trade. Perhaps they were asleep already. I thought of those who failed to keep their promises because their journeys came to an untimely end.

Frost considered the owner of the wood and if he would object to him stopping there. These woods and cows and meadow and moment are mine and no one sees me here or knows where I am. Not even one of the many millions in this world. Its just as well for they might think something wrong to see a man, outstanding in his field, in such weather.

Nor is anyone here with whom to share it. It seems so selfish to have it all to myself but were there a crowd it would not be the same. The essence of solitude cannot be shared. To share even a smidgen of it, I must write it, edit it, and refine it, let it grow cold and re-visit it. Simply telling it would not suffice. I just stood and listened and watched until the melting snow chilled my shoulders and told me it was time to go in. Time to go in and enjoy the fireside and peck out a momento of the occasion for future enlightment, and to reflect on what I had experienced. And time to get a good nights sleep to be rested for the challenges of the miles to go and promises to be kept tomorrow. I know the respite and rejuvenenation Frost enjoyed stopping by the wood that evening. The respite and rejuvenation we all surely need from time to time as we, as did he, face our immediate responsibilities as well as the miles to go and promises to be kept on all of the tomorrows before we sleep that final sleep to which Frost must have been alluding when he repeated the last stanza, “and miles to go before I sleep.”
Tarryleas
2-18-08

I first met this poem when I heard a short extract on a television programme. The extract did not identify the poem nor the writer. It stayed with me a long time and eventually I had to look up the source of the quotation. Since then, many years ago, it has stayed with me and inspiped me. Thank you Robert Frost.

i just love this poem ‘cos it is extensively inspirational. whenever i m tired with the odds of life or whenever i feel that my vision is diverting from my dreams, i just read last lines of the poem and it can easily revitalize me to go back onto the track and work hard for achieving the goals.because there are lots of dreams of mine to be fulfilled before my life gets over …..

I love the work of Robert Frost, because it reminds us to continue struggling inspite of the hindrances that we encounter.It gives us strength and determines clearly our objective in life. Though we stumble along our way, but still continuing to struggle and not forgetting the obligations in life..

I believe some of the major themes in this poem include isolation, and the indifference of nature. In my opinion the key to understanding this poem lies in one’s interpretation of the line “But I have promises to keep.” The speaker seems content to lie in the snow and welcome the peacefulness of death, until his horse (who, unlike the speaker, is keenly aware that they are trespassing on the darkest night of the year) brings him back into the world of the living with a shake of his harness bells. For me, “promises to keep” refers to the obligations the speaker has in the world of the living (to his friends, family, his horse at the current moment). He will only continue to live for the sake of others; in reality, he prefers the calming solitude of an indifferent natural world to the world of the living. Even though Frost insisted that the repetition of “and miles to go before i sleep” was NOT supposed to invoke death, his opinion is simply that, one person’s opinion of a work. Furthermore, I think this poem can be convincingly interpreted as dealing with suicide, however, the way Frost describes it in the poem, suicide is a submission to the natural world rather than one forcibily ending their life.

I love this poem,even as a child in the ghettos of Chicago,I understood what it was about.God is great.This is his universe.Next to ‘Trees”,it’s my favorite poem.Sorry I can’t dissect it,don’t have A college education about poetry.

I have enjoyed this poem ever since Frost read it to us and discussed it with us on one of his frequent visits to Middlebury College while I was a student there. I call this poem a “Sonnet with a Bonnet.” Fourteen lines plus a couplet to top it off. Of course the bonnet appears to be at the foot of the poem on paper, but tops off the poem when recited aloud. Kind of like Frost’s inversions of everyday reality in so many of his poems.

The rhyme scheme is:

The octave: aaba, bbcb;
The sestet: ccdcdd,
The “bonnet:” dd.

Try reading the poem as a sonnet ending with “But I have promises to keep.” The speaker wants to spend time in reverie as he contemplates the snowy woods. However several gentle but powerful forces prevent him from dreaming and force him to get moving. The first force is the very meter of the poem itself, a hurried iambic tetrameter rather than the more leisurely pentameter found in most sonnets. The second force to get moving is the horse shaking his harness bells. I imagine the rhythm of the bells in “Sleigh Ride.” I wouldn’t have made that connection if the poem had been in pentameter. The third force is the almost inaudible sweeping wind blowing the snow around.

The “volta” or turn comes at the beginning of the sestet, when the speaker hears the harness bells and the wind, wakes up and realizes that “The woods are lovely dark and deep. But I have promises to keep.” The sonnet ends with this awakening to the reality of the present moment.

In the “bonnet” the speaker becomes meditative and contemplates his longer-term future commitments: “And miles to go before I sleep.” And he resigns himself to his future as he wistfully repeats: “And miles to go before I sleep.”

Note: to further your enjoyment of this poem, I highly recommend listening to Elisabeth von Trapp singing her exquisite musical setting of it on her CD “Poetic License.”

To me this poem by Robert Frost means a lot of things…
He is talking about how he can die right now if he wanted to because he is satisfies with the beauty of his life (the woods) yet it is still ”dark and deep” and he still has a lot of things to do before he dies ”miles to go before I sleep” by sleep he means death, and he is talking about how he can die right now if he wanted to and how beautiful the place is, but then the bells from the horse wakes him back up and tells him to basically, snap out of it, you have still got a lot of things to do before you die and that you have a lot of promises in life to keep.

I think it is a very good poem and it had definitely touched me personally and i think it is a good metaphor of death and satisfaction with your life, and whether you are allowed to die as soon as you are satisfied or do you have to keep all your promises?

That is of course only my opinion and other people might view this poem in a different way.

When Robert Frost refers to the village and woods as “his”,i think he is refering to death.He is passing through deaths territory, not ready to die(“but I have promises to keep And miles before I sleep”)He looks at how easy and peaceful it looks,but he isnt done with his mission and refuses to rest.

i definately do not believe that Frost was considering suicide.he was engraved in deep thoughts of life and considering how short it is. Therefore it is impotrant that we fulfil the pronises me make to ourselves and others. “And miles to go before i sleep” suggest that the speaker is determine to accomplish these aims before he dies. however, there are certain pleasures of life that may distract us from concentrating on these promises.during this time though, there are people in life that may help us get back on track and keep our focus, frost uses the horse to state the usefulnes of animals to the choices we make i life inspite trheir innocense to understand human nature.

Stopping by the woods is about suicide… that is the deep meaning… On a literal level, obviously it is either about cows in woods, waiting for some hay, or about santa claus, on a sleigh, sleepy, but knowing that he still has many more miles to go.

Solitude,isolation,contemplation,reflections on life and the reality of ownership of tangible items.
An immediate reference to the dark woods,and a more distant reference to the primeval lay deep with in the physche of all.
The reference to the animal which cannot sense the forboding or symbolic rationalisation of humanity.
To some the woods may be frightening,to others,shelter of a kind.
These are but a few thoughts on why these relatively few lines, well structured as they are, create so many different meanings to the reader.
The true magic lays in the resonant chord it strikes with the individual.
It will endear itself to generations to come.

Poetry is a whole and an individual. It can mean a whole other thing for each individual. A person does not have to know a poet’s life to appreciate something that he is bringing up or even moreso for someone to appreciate what he’s not. By all means, make a comment on the literature and not on how you can understand it better than most.

It has nothing to do with a man in a woods, your contextual knowledge is very bad. Robert Frost wrote this poem in a state of depression as he had thoughts of suicide. and no Miss Erika Roybal Frost does not have a secret!!! Hes planning suicide, where shud i do it, the snowy are, its quite peaceful. Mark bloody Dickson you tool, yer sure hes writing of how beutiful “woods” are… hmmm woods, dark place, a place where u get “lost” perhaps, this is his why he is stopped and also notice the rhythm… the first three versus all rhyme but the last… not mesmarised the whole time Alice Hsu but actually the woods being symbolic of his state of mind being in a disillusional state, waking up from it wen he realises, “he still has promises to keep” eg not kill himself…

and why isnt the guy at the house there… maybe its because there is no one in his life he though, suicide perhaps… duh. Maybe if there was a man in the house he wuould have never even contemplated suicide.

DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN THIS POEM IS ALL ABOUT FROST NOT SOME MAN,NOTE THE NARRATION IT SAYS “I” NOT HE.

In this poem it seems like Frost is describing that he has a jurney to complete and he is riding on a sleigh in the woods. He knows he has to keep on going because he has somthing important to do. then near the end he says nice things about the woods and the snow.

This poem is referring the narrator was depicting the beauty of the snow scenery and expressing the contradictory feelings that he had. When the narrator came to the forest, he was mesmerized by the beautiful scenes, as a result, he wanted to probe on the mysteries of the nature; however, he had to do what he had to do and that was to move on. This poem use personification and imagery to show us when two different desires happened at the same time it will create a contradictory feeling.

I think in this poem Frost has a favor to do for someone secret. It seems that he does not really care about his horse because he will do anything to get the job done. I think the ringing of the harness bell might mean that he is checking to see if someone will come out of the house before he enters it because he cannot see because it is so dark.

I think this poem has a cold feeling. Almost like Frost is hidding or not telling part of his story. He seems to have a journey to complete and he wont stop at any cost, even if his horse is tired. He shows a lot of dedication to whatever he needs to get done , and a lot of loyalty to whoever it is being done for, even if it is for himself. He showes the reader that its more than walking through the forest its a journey that everyone goes through a journey called life.

This poem is about a man who is riding through the woods on a snowy evening. He is tired and wants to rest, but he has a responsibility. This man is very loyal. Although he has miles to go before he can sleep, he decides not to take a rest in the woods because he knows that he has a promise to keep.

In this poem, I feel that he is speaking of the attraction of the woods and the responsibilities outside the woods. I also think he describes the attraction to just watch the beauty of the woods and forget your troubles.

The poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost shows me Frost’s loyalty and accountability in that he wanted to stop to rest for the night, but he knew the horse would struggle so he kept on. You should always be loyal in life and keep your promises as Frost did in this poem. This poem gave a perfect example of being loyal without actually stating it in words.

The poem “stopping by woods on a snowy evening” reveals a sort of sadness in Frost. The poem sends the message of peace and deep thought. I think he is trying to say that everyone needs to stop and be alone once in a while. Just to assess their own lives by themselves. He’s trying to say independence is a good thing.

This poem is Differnt. I don’t know what he trying to say. He talks about things of his time period that doesn’t relate to our period. This piece of literature is magnificent. His sentence structure is well done also.

This poem is different. The fact that Frost refers to something that he never reveals what it is is a mystery. I think that that thing is for each individual to fill in with his or her own feelings. Like never stop loving or stop believing.

I’m not sure what some people are talking about on here. This poem reflects the time in Frost’s life when he had a great deal of depression. The reason he speaks of woods and cold is because one of the most peaceful ways to die is to freeze to death, obviously he is considering suicide by just falling asleep on the coldest, darkest night of the year. But he realizes he has important things to do before he passes.

In this poem Frost tried to give us an immagine of the heaven on the Earth.No sounds. Not many colours and the main one is white. Also the feeling that i have while reading this poem are made of underpressure but at the same time of chill.
The man on his way, which i belive is the author, would like to stay but he has ” promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep”. The last three verses i think are a way to say that he is not ready yet to share the heaven because he still have miles to walk on and promises to keep.

Im using this poem for a school assignment and I think it’s great. Its really interesting and I think Robert Frost was a great poet. I can really picture it altough we don’t get much snow in Australia. It reminds me of the kids TV show “Arthur”. I don’t know why. Great poem though. It really intrigued me and stopped me in my tracks, leaving me to think about it. I also like his poem on Fiare and Ice.

In this poem Frost is describing a cold evening in the woods. I think he is on his way to do something important, like a promise he intends to keep, because he says, “But I have promises to keeps, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep”. I also think he is worried about what may lie ahead of him because he is taking the time to clear his mind by watching the snow fall in the woods.

The dark cold woods symbolize the hardships in life, and the man who lives there is enduring them. The poem states in the last stanza “I have a promise to keep”(Frost 1)/ and the that is a metaphor for our repsonisbilities in life and “And mile to before I sleep”(Frost 1)/ is stated in the last 2 lines if the poem and it means to stay repsonsible and follow through with your promises, even when it is dark.

In the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, i think that it is about a harsh journey that a journeyman has to endeavor and go through. I believe that he finds a cabin and a nice old man in the middle of the forest where it is freezing cold. Where ice drips form on you’re nose and that it is so cold that you shivery profusly. I believe that frost uses amazing imagery in this peom and captivated me to read more and want more. Overall, this poem really took me on a journey and told me how it is to endeer on a harsh endeavor and need shelter when it is cold and dark . You look to people for your time in need and pray that you do the same when someone comes knocking on your door.

This poem is interesting. What came to my understanding of the poem is that the writer loves to see the man in the village as he crosses through the woods, but he “has promises to keep,” and “miles to go” before he sleeps. So I believe the theme of this poem is that you mustn’t stop what you are set to do, and you must be dedicated, no matter what pleasures or obstacles may lie on the way.

This poem can be interpreted many different ways. Many people, and I am able to see it too, say that it is a poem of suicidal thoughts, and the contemplation of killing oneself. When Frost says

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

It can be, and is in some cases, taken as a contemplation of suicide. Though, to be brutally honest, I believe Frost was just illustrating the wonders of the journey through a snowy wood. ( He does it beautifully, I might add. )

although this poem was first published in 1923, i think that it was actually written a lot earlier. When his wife, before they were married, turned down his wedding proposal, frost was sure that she was seeing someone else. i think that is were the first stanza came from. he went to the Great Dismal Swamp because he was so depressed and i think that is why he thought about killing himself.

This poem is amazing! it doesn’t only show us a brilliant description of winter, but it also describes perfectly the feelings you have in the middle of a long journey! i was inspired by this poem in my english class!

i think this is a brillant peom as it is taking you in to the way he lived his life hear the woods in the village so he know what the snowy evening in the woods had to offer. wee are learning bout this in english and i am evr intrested in poetry wee were also studying the other poem the road not taking i found that intresting as he explend why he pick the road that wanted wear. and in the last verse he tells us with a sigh that was the path that made all the difference.

jamier black orange field high school belfast
my english teacher is miss gardner and i hope there is more brillant write in the future like robert forst

I came to know about Robert Frost while at school.
I think that the woods are the comforts and pleasures of a known place like our home. But a home is only a temporary stop in our journey of life. May be our life itself is a temporary stop in a larger journey

I adore this poem, coming from the UK I have wealth of poets at my disposal (as do we all), Shelley, Keates, Tennyson and Byron to name but a few! However, Robert Frost is one of my all time favourites, he ranks with them all! The imagery he portrays in so few lines is sheer mastery, I studied the poem at school and still after all these years, it never fails to conjure up the most invocative of meanings. I also love The Road Not Taken, but that is another story….

I think this poem means that you need to every once and a while you need to stop and be thankful for what is around you because in the poem he quotes,”the horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near”,then he says, ”I have promises to keep and miles and miles to go before I sleep.”I am a 4th grade reader and I like this poem.

this poem is one of my best heard ones.first of all,Robert Frost is one of the best poets,he is also a nature poet.he has good ideas and imageneries and the readers too can get some asthetic sense also.

Sometimes, life presents individuals with situations which allow for both an easy and difficult exit, the choice depending only upon the person. I feel the “dark woods”, can be the throws of addiction. Though the woods are “lovely, dark, and deep”, we as people have “promises to keep” in fulfilling our life’s purposes as willed by God. This cannot be done with a life slaved to our drug. Although the easy choice is “lovely”, we must know to choose the better path.

He wants to lay down and sleep, but he still has things he must accomplish. He is too attached to let go and lay down his head… Yet he’s stopped in this wood on the darkest eve of the year. The little horse is worried. They are stopped.

This poem never really made much sense to me until I heard it as composed by Eric Whitacre. It was really hard to connect with the emotion; now I find it hard not to.

I am not sure in specific what he is contemplating, wether it be suicide, affair, crime, ect. But my opinion on this, is that he is faced with the easy way out. But he knows his responsibility and must go on. I find it absolutely beautiful and optimistic, saying that it will get better and must find happiness.

This poem makes me feel cold. I also feel sad. It is about cows in a forest and they need some hay. They want to go to sleep in a warm barn but the
man on the horse wants to go to the village to drink some coffee. He will need to go many miles and then come back to put the cows to bed.

i love this poem, it is one of my favourite. i agree with the comments that this is about life and the journey we have to take, it speaks to the resilience in mankind and the hopes and dreams we must strive for without quitting.i think frost has done a great job of describing this scene. the imageries are profound.

ACTUALY I FIND THIS POEM VERY INTERESTIN.THE POEM GIVES US AVIVID PICTURE OF A DAK SOWY EVENNING IN WITER.HTE POEM IS FULL OF IMAGENARIES AND IT CREATES A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE IN READERS MIND.I STUDIED THIS POEM FOR LITRATUUER IN MY SCHOOL.I FIND IT VERY INTERSTING.THE LAST LINES HAVE A DEEP MEANING IN IT.IT SAYS THAT HTE RIDER HAS TO FULFILL HIS DUTIES BEFORE HE DIES.SLEP INDICATES DEATH.THOUGH HE GIVES A DEEP MEANING THROUGH HIS POEM HE PRESENTS IT VERY BEAUTIFULLY THROUGH IMAGENARIE.I LIKE THE POEM VERY MUCH.

i think it’s about a guy who goes here every year during winter and chill out there becuase it’s really peaceful and nice to him when he wants to get away by himself before he heads out again to start his journey to find some where to rest and sleep.

The first time i read this the image that came to me wa a man about to have sex with a next man’s wife and thats not the only lady he has to visit, he has more than one more visit to make for the night. This actually makes perfect sense if you read the poem thinking that way. Then it could mean what other people with their heads out of the gutter would think its a man on the journey of life stopping for a while to observe the beauty of life before going on the road of life again. Personally i think the first explanation goes better with the poem.

An inspiring poem which influences the readers with its simple language. Man’s value of existence in this universe is emphasized by juxtaposing him with other being (horse). Man has more responspilities rather than other beings. Within the limited time man has to accomplish his duties and continue his journey of life before his life ends. The five sense horse thinks and asks a question whether the poet has lost his sense and why he stops at the darkest night of the year. However the poet concludes that he has to continue his journey to finish his promises. The poet feels this short time of taking rest to admire the beauty of snow fall on the woods will refresh and energise him to continiue his work.

I think of your poem’s as a sign of dignity and passion for winter. I think that your poems are very illestrative and show a unique quantity of talent. I would like to know more about your poem’s in more special way’s.

I tried to get my own conclusion before reading other comments. First time I read it I thought it was about a man about to be unfaithful. The “lovely, dark, and deep” being the woman. His horse was his… The promises of course refering to his wife.
Then I thought of thief .

“And Miles to go before i sleep” is my favorite line
A very thoughtful poem which will make you to realise the responsiblities. An inspiration telling that a long road ahead so be prepared to face it
Senthil kumar

As a student of literature,I have read the poem.This poem is very beautiful,short and describes Frost’s strong imaginative power.I have got much pleasure from it. It IS also full of spiritual divinity.

The poem has a lot of interpretations, but I think we should see it as a mental journey. If you read the text thoroughly, you must realise that all the things given in the text are in Frost’s mind. He has created a world to see if he could live away from reality. The horse, the night, all is in Frost’s mind. For example, the woods (lovely, dark and deep), symbolize a mental stage immersed in darkness, most like a depression. But he thinks about his promises, his miles to go, so he go on and keep living in this world, where nothing toughs him, and all his as if it was lost.

Apparently, this poem is simple and even boring…but if you do a close reading of it, you can discover a poem full of meanings.
From my point of view, I think that it is associated with the suicide. In addition, God is a figure important here, because in my opinion I think that the friend of the speaker is he. Night is something important here, because it is related with death: night is the last moment in a day, in the same way that death is the last event in a life.
These are some particular ideas that I have supposed after read the poem, but it has many others interpretations.
Thanks!

Indeed a mind blowing piece of Frost, and one of the best poems i have ever come across. It is positive, and inspiring to every human and i personally feel that the description of the purpose of life in just few lines is awesome. A must for every student and the ones who are depressed in life as the poem also says that life offers plenty of oppotunities than death. read it, get revived, and have the most wonderful experience of your life. I just love it!!!!!!!

i first came across this poem as a kid when i was in class ix and it still remains one of the greatest poems that i ever read.
The poem is very simple and lucid, yet it carries a great meassage.
The last lines “i have many promises to keep… and miles to go b’fore i sleep…”..
conveys that whatever bond, whatever obstacles be , one should keep performing one’s duties, keep moving towards one’s goal till the end of one’s life.In a nutshell one should never retire from one’s duties. one’s struggle for betterment, one should always keep moving.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a poem which teaches us to be hopeful and appreciate the opportunities. Robert Frost has written ‘and miles to go before I sleep’ implying that he is not afraid to die. ‘I have promises to keep’ implies that he is conscious of his resposibilities towards his family,career etc. A very thoughtful and inspiring composition.

I agree that Frost in this poem is not contemplating suicide in THIS poem, but rather he is embracing the fact that he has a life to live before he goes. Using the line “And miles to go before i sleep”, implies that he’s not afraid of death. Although he uses the word ‘sleep’ as a metaphor for death in his other poems, in this one he uses it in a more softer tone. He knows that he will die but knows also that “he has promises to keep”, which, really getting to the point, is living his life and appreciating his opportunities. Even the fact that he and his horse stops at the snowy woods shows that he is stopping to appreciate the sight around him. On the deeper level he is appreciating life and what he has around him, ie, family, good career, etc….hmmmm i hope all that is right because i’m sitting and exam in an hour’s time on Frost hehe.

This profound poem is about our lost connection with the natural world.
Our ego bound activities take over our entire adult life. No time to
appreciate the natural world. No time for activities that have no
specific reason to admire nature. Even the horse senses there is
something wrong with stopping in these woods because the horse is
trained by humans.
“…promises to keep..” is the abiding theme of all of our lives as
urban dwellers and it is very, very sad.

I’ve been reading a few of the other comments, and I find it hard to believe that this poem is about suicide at all. His tale and descriptiveness of the emotions leaves no room to assume that the character wants or feels the need to commit suicide. However, there are somber underlying currents to this poem that suggest the ultimate sadness bestilled in his being. Perhaps the coldness and darkness of the winter night symbolize these emotions as continues on his endless journey to search for something he seems to have lost. Maybe his own personal experiences took away part of himself, and he’s out to find whatever he can. His solitude, with his only companion being the horse, suggests a highly individualistic nature brought about by a certain loss earlier in his life. The poem ends with a repetition of “And miles to go before I sleep,” suggesting that he knows that obstacles that lay ahead in his task, and points to unwillingness to give up.
I like it.

yes this poem is definately about death and suicide and the horse reminds him there are still things he has to take care of and people he has made promises to so there for he cares for others more than himself.

robert forst’s this poem is excellent conveying us to perform work before metting Mr. death.This existing world can be vision from different angle.This world is composed of beautiful scenery; we are amazed to vision it, but human being had to perform innumberable work before embrassing death.

robert forst’s thid poem is excellent in nature and structure.robert urge us to do something before embressing the death. nature and woods scenery are plesing to every one but one need to do lot of thing before embrssing death.

I think that it’s very possible for this poem to have more than one meaning. However, I still have trouble agreeing with the notion that it’s simply about a late night ride in the forest. That could be all that Robert Frost had in mind when he wrote it, but I doubt it. I also doubt this poem is just about the beauty of winter, although it could be. I believe this poem is symbolism of contemplating suicide and realizing that suicide is not the way. I also see it as a poem about the importance of life and not giving up. Suicide may not be the exact message, but I feel the message definitely has something to do with life’s struggles, giving up on life, and questioning ourselves in our darkest moments. It’s about our own strength within us in times of heartache. Suicide, however, still seems to me to be an obvious answer. This doesn’t mean Robert Frost himself thought about killing himself. The inspiration for this poem could have come elsewhere. Maybe he just wanted to get this poem out as a message of hope. Maybe he knew someone who was going through a similar situation as the speaker; a friend or family member. Whatever his reason for writing this poem, I personally see it as very uplifting, positive, and inspiring. That last stanza speaks to me. It speaks to anyone who has considered throwing it all away. Assuming that it is about suicide, the fact that the speaker has a change of heart and realizes that he in fact does have more to accomplish before his time is done is beautiful. The message is clear: never give up, ever. I love to read it when I am feeling sad. It picks me up and reminds me that I can get passed it.

I don’t think this poem is about death and I don’t think it is totally about darkness either. There are some somber undertones to it, but out of all of it comes hope and inner strength. Hope is the antithesis of darkness and I think thats what makes this such an amazing piece.

This is poem is very deep. Every time I read it, I discover something new. It is definitely about death or sucicide. He has to choose whether to kill himself or give up and die. Robert Frost is defintely an outstanding and out-of-this -world poet

this poem has a christmas tone to it. it is well described and well done.Robert Froet is very good at rhymesing and this is a great example.I admire and love all his work.As this poem shows not only his reaction to the beauty that lies before him but in a sence the horses raction.This is one of my faveourite poem.

It is winter solstice. A man on a mission takes a break. For a moment he takes the liberty of admiring the beauty of snow starting to cover the woods. As a member of the human race he is able to appreciate beauty. His companion is not.

It is a still, silent and beautiful moment of solitude. Not even the owner of the woods is near.

The horse doesn’t understand why the man is taking this “unlogical” break, and nervously reminds him to continue the mission, whatever that is.

As simple and beatiful as that. No death and no weirdness. Just an atmospheric masterpiece written by a master.

“STOPPING BY WOODS…….”
This is a shy and embarrassed admission of adulterous temptation,
But, goaded by his conscience, he didn’t cave in.
Life must go on, but how could it with this guilt on his soul?
This is truly a masterful work using poetic imagery mixed with dream symbolism
Carved into the memories of those of us who studied the work of art
As youngsters, not yet knowing the beauty or darkness of things to come.

Through the years the meaning has slowly come into focus to me.

I admire and love all his work. I have been fortunate to visit his farm in Derry.
When I went to the house, they said he wasn’t home. He was down in the woods,
Writing another poem.

This beautiful poem seems to me to be related to ‘Leisure’ by W.H Davies who asks “What is this life, if full of care/We have no time to stand and stare?”
Here, the persona takes a few monutes to “stop” and admire a natural phenomenon. The last three lines move beyond appreciation of nature to an allegorical plane.While the idea of courting death—a dreamless “sleep”—is certainly seductive, the persona realizes that he has commitments and concerns which cannot be irresponsibly abandoned.In making sense of the poem,let us not forget that each verse is rich in alliteration and assonance. Sound echoes substance.

I don’t see any death in this poem but, rather a young man at a cross roads in his life with a heavy burden. The man must make a decision over something. Perhaps choosing between two women. i am now 51 years old. this was my favorite poem in high school and is still my favorite poem.

After a certain period of time we all have to take the taste of death, this is a hard reality. Poet believes it and he shows his optimism that we have to finish our duties as well as we have to take care our responsibilities. On the other hand death is a static thing like a frozen lake. Here he is something pessimistic I think. However, he is such a great poet who can draw life within death. This poem is the best poem I read ever in my life.

It seems essential to mention that the traveler is aware these are not his woods, yet he knows the owner. He has left that “human” and “material” world behind. He is in a dreamlike place where he is now aware of two things: the woods filling with snow and the horse shaking his harness. One silent and distant and one very real. His journey cannot stop here, no matter how pleasant the idea. None of our journeys can. The snow will fall and fill, but the horse and harness cannot be ignored. The traveler knows what he has to do. Once he has left, once we have left, we must finish what we have begun. There is no turning back. We can assure ourselves of that.

It’s amazing that not everyone understands this poem. Actually, being the only one in my Cont. LA class to finally understand that the lines are centered around death. It doesn’t surprise me that some comment ‘it doesn’t make sence’.

I’ll break apart the second paragraph, because that’s the easiest one to explain.
“He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.” The horse is trying to get his master to move on, to not think about such things that are as dreary as death. He wants to know if this is really what must happen and if they really are in the right place.
“The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.” He’s describing the place around him, of how he is pondering this move and leaving the horse unanswered. As many are confronted with such a though, it’s best to either not answer or simply smile and move on.
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,” Death seems wonderful, as it will bring about no more pain. They’ll suck away all the troubles of this world. It seems like a very inviting call to the traveler.
“But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” He realizes here that death is not the answer because there are others he has to live for. Understanding that there is still quite a while before he must come to this place again, he travels on. The Sleep, metaphoically used to represent death, is still a long way off in his life.

hope that helps some understanding the message here, i’ll leave the rest to be decoded by someone else ^_^.

I would say that, by far, this is my favorite poem.. I read it in a book once and have been obsessed with it ever since.. I just think it’s cool how he’s saying that he could have died there if he didn’t have his horse to bring him back to reality and snap him out of a daydream.

A deceptive poem, “Stopping…” begins rather innocently: simple rhymes describing a brief pause in the narrator’s light, horse-carriage evening journey through a peaceful, snowy forest. But then come the final lines, four stanzas that convey the impression of staring into an abyss, or of wandering endlessly into a deep and unfanthomable blankness.

I have heard this poem/song a lot in my life and i really think that this poem has a deep meaning into it besides just having someone stop in the woods. The poem is saying to have courage and to take chances. this poem really inspired me.

This is one of my favorite poem and I have kept the last stanza “Woods are lovely ….before I sleep” beside my work place. It used to give me inspiration when I was a student and still gives me the same inspiration at this age of 42.
Although it is difficult to stick to our goal in this fast changing world, at least we can get some courage from this poem.

My english teacher, a big, bald, irishman, says that this poem is about Santa Claus. He says Santa is delivering presents, that is the “promise” he must keep. The miles to go before he sleeps are the many houses he must visit to give presents to. The horses harness bells are really sleigh bells. Its quiet because everyone is sleeping and waiting for Santa to come. No suicide here… can anyone argue against that logic> (>.>) lol…

As I see it, having read and reread this wonderful poem many times since my first encounter at the age of seven, the woods–“lovely, dark, and deep”–are beckoning to the speaker/narrator’s unconscious desires, as if seducing him to enter, possibly never to return. At the same moment, his consciousness calls him back to the reality that faces every living thing–the will to go on living, doing, being. After all, he has “promises to keep.” He has obligations and responsibilities, to others perhaps, and to himself as a creature of the world with a passion to live. And with a curiosity that seeks to know the mystery of death.

Here is a story:
Our young teacher, Ms. Elizabeth lived happily, teaching us and devoting her time to her husband, her family and her poetry. When we asked her why she was always bruised up, she would look away from us and simply say that she was clumsy and often fell down. We were no fools. Each day, as Ms. Elizabeth came to class, we turned over and over in our heads the different possibilities of why Ms. Elizabeth was so clumsy and fell down so much. Some of us knew the truth before the others did; However, eventually everyone knew, but no one said a word. Ms. Elizabeth came across “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” by Mr. Frost. It was in the curriculum which she had to teach us. One day, Ms. Elizabeth sat down and read us the poem. She could not finish it because she broke into tears near the end and had to use the bathroom. Each day afterwards, Ms. Elizabeth would try to read the poem again and again, but she always broke out into tears. One day, she finally gave up reading the poem and had us switch to another assignment: making paper mache. Years afterwards, I took a poetry class in college. My thesis paper was on the “poetry of Robert Frost and its connection to everyday life”. “Stopping by…” was one of the poems I wrote about in my paper. I always interpreted it as a journey; it is good to sometimes stop and admire the scenery, but I cannot let it slow myself down too much because “I have miles to go before I sleep…” I think this is the meaning Ms. Elizabeth was trying to believe, each time she read that poem to us.

How do I love this poem? Let me count the ways! One of the things I’ve learned about poetry and apply to this work is that the narrative voice of the poem is not necessarily the voice of the poet. When Frost framed and structured this work and chose meter and rhyme scheme and wrote and rewrote, selecting the words that worked best for him, was he contemplating a darker meaning of suicide and death? We don’t know what he was thinking outside of composing his work. We know what we think when we search for metaphors and symbols and analyze their interpretation according to what we, the readers, think of their meanings to us.
Perhaps to some the winter woods and frozen lake symbolize death. But, to me those same words evoke a scene of beauty and a sense that there never seems to be enough time to enjoy the simple beautiful things in life. Years ago, having lived in up-state NY and close to New England, I had many opportunities to watch snowfalls in quiet woods. A beautiful scene beautifully told by Robert Frost.

This is my all time favorite poem by my all time favorite poet. I think it’s pretty simple. He’s not really referring to stopping in the woods, he’s referring to death. He’s tired and wishes he could just lay down and sleep, but he has many things to do (many miles to go) before he ‘sleeps’. It almost makes me feel kinda sad.. –wipes tear– lol.
~Leyla

About 40 years ago, my 7th grade English teacher made us memorize a bunch of poems, including this one. I find it amazing that I can still recite every one of them. What a great gift that teacher gave us! I also remember that this one was very easy to learn because the rhymes follow a pattern AABA BBCB CCDC DDDD (i.e., Here-Queer, Lake-Shake, Sweep-Deep). In the years that followed, I have often pondered the poem’s deeper meanings. Like Bible verses, meanings often evolve a bit as the reader grows older. In 7th grade, I thought it was just a nice story about a guy and his horse stopping by a woods. Only the last line had a deeper meaning for me… that he had a lot of stuff to do before he died. I think it’s a mark of great poem when children and adults can both get something out of it. Sort of like baseball… it can be enjoyed on many levels, from tee-ball to high school to the big leagues.

This poem is a poem of theism.we find the god, soul, a bit escapism but just consciousness again.work, responsibilities,promisses to all our kiths and kins,things we do though we r not interested.
horse is taking the poet in the journey,so it is our soul and we all are represented by poet himself.”whose woods” must be of god himself,but the poet is not sure of it.the horse an animal has to make him conscious by giving harness a shake. the last lines, really a commitment to live a life,. very symbolic too,like evening time, snow,woods dark and deep still lovely,but no sequence in vocabulary.any way a superb piece of frost.

well,i read this poem when i was in 9th class,it was in our english book. i am really impressed by this poem..the last stanza contains the whole message.its my all time favourite poem. i have miles to go before i sleep…

What do I see when I read this poem. I see a man on a mission, maybe some weighty responsibility, definitely on a journey. It’s interesting that what really drew him was the complete aloneness he felt in the woods. The absolute privacy. Yet he had a sense of trespassing … “He will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow”. It was a stolen moment; a moment he might never just get an opportunity to enjoy again on his journey through life. For a moment, he could forget about his responsibilities, about his commitments, about the World.
But reality soon sets in. And the weight of what he still has to accomplish comes back to him, and he has to make a choice. To stay, or to go.
I find that I agree with those who think the choice is between life and death, in a sense. Something about the woods would have taken the weight of his obligations off him, but he chooses to live, and to continue on his journey through life.
After all said and done, it’s a beautiful piece. Simply beautiful

When I first read this poem – that is now my favorite –
as many others, I thought about willingness to death.. then I read it again, and I couldn’t see why I had thought of that… the point is, now, for me it’s so clear that the subject of this poem is an affair…

‘Whose woods are these I think I know’
it’s clear… and it’s also confirmed in the analysis of the rhythm…

in the first 3 stanzas, there is a different sound in the rhyme… in my opinion, this is a clue to understand the poem… Since, in my point of view, it’s about an affair, the poem itself doesn’t tell us if the couple will be together in the end… but the rhythm does… In the last stanza, there is only 1 rhyme, that can mean ‘there is nobody in between them now, they’ll be together’.

I love this poem, but sadly I think that a lot of people here may be misinterpreting it. I believe that this poem is similar in it’s use of metaphors to “The Road Not Taken”, but to understand this we must look at the poem.

“…the darkest evening of the year”

This line (to me, at least) implies that the subject is experiencing harsh times and difficulty. His “little horse must think it queer” that he is stopping to watch someone else’s woods fill up with snow, though he is obviously captivated. The snow and the “dark and deep” woods can be read as metaphors for withdrawal, passivity or death. If one considers that the subject is contemplating staying the woods (ie giving up on life) or pressing on to his carry out his responsibilities in life, a deeper meaning is found.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

This last stanza speaks of determination and a willingness to continue. “Sleep” can be literally interpreted as death, and the “miles to go” and “promises to keep” both have literal meanings. The subject is choosing to continue his metaphorical journey through life, rather than withdrawing into passivity, as I stated before.

I imagine that the person that is ‘stopping by the woods’ is enjoying his solitude and the lonliness of the woods. But his enjoyment is not quite complete because of the horses that are restless at the stop. He is pulled away from his reverie by his responsibilities, a very effective way for Frost to illustrate the poignancy of the moment.

Many have commented on this particular poem. I realise that what I say may not make a difference at all… in fact, I’d be suprised if anyone actual reads this. But then, I am more writing to clear my own mind then to actually affect anothers. So I’m going to ramble on for a minute, if you don’t mind.

My favorite part of this poem is how he thinks of the point of view of his horse, who sees no need in being there. There is not benifit, nothing of worth to thier situation. But the rider sees something different. He sees something worth stopping for. So, quite literally, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, even though the beauty has caused him to pause, the confusion of his horse calls him back to reality. Reminds him of what he must do. Responsability and a promise of a better tomorrow calls him away from his present joys. [/ramble]

Actually, I believe that there is no hidden meaning in this poem, that there’s no ‘other circimstance’ it was meant to represent. It is simply beautiful. But it does make you think, doesn’t it?

i have read the other comments and it somewhat had an effect on how I perceived this poem but at first for me, I think this poem talks about the choices we made in our life. And those choices are made between good and evil. I think the woods represents the seductions in life which everyone of us are easily attracted to but deep in ourseleves we know that we have to decide for the right thing to do.

I have always wondered if this poem had a very different meaning than is often suggested. Perhaps I am crazy, but to me it sounds like the reflections of a man who is having an affair with another man’s wife.

This has been my alltime favourite poem. i can feel the the whole life thru this poem. It depicts the life of humans in the world.

The first few lines suggests that there was no one else around the poet…. which reminds me of the loniliness of us in the present day world. Not sure if its scary but its defnitely a very rare and extraordinary feeling.

when the poet says that he is not sure as to whose place he is at, it suggests the ignorance of man on where we are and the confusion within him as to why he is here.

woods are lovely dark and deep… isnt it amazing the way he has expalined the whole complex and uncertain life with ups and downs in 3 strong words
The last four lines is so inspiring and means so much in real life…. It keeps me going in any of my lifes hard phases.when he says he has miles to go before he goes to sleep….i can feel it myself. although the world he scary, his commitments and responsiblity urges him to move on than surrender to the difficult life

I love this poem. It’s one of my all-time favourites and my students insist it reflects my somewhat morbid taste in poetry. Well first I’d like to agree with those who feel this poem has a sucidal sub-text. It also touches on emotional isolation; it’s clear that the persona feels alienated or enstranged from both man and God. Why do I say this? Let’s begin with the suicide notion. The persona is clearly in a state of deep depression – “the darkest evening of the year” could be a metaphor for what he perceives as the lowest moment in his life. He sees no hope in his present situation – “Between the woods and frozen lake”. All around him is dark, depressing and dreary. The poem is also set in a winter landscape and we all know that in many cases in lit, winter and its images are evocative of death. The woods which would normally synmbolize life – green vegetation, animals, seedlings, etc; now are symbolic of death – “To watch his woods fill up with snow”. There is clearly no life in this woods. The “frozen lake” is another powerful metaphor for death as the water – usually a symbol of life – is now frozen; again indicative of death. Therfore when he says in the last stanza that ” The woods are lovely, dark and deep”, Frost is clearly suggesting that death [the woods] is a seductive and comforting idea for the persona in his current situation.

What then suggests that he’s alienated from God and man? Well, look at the setting the persona is placed in. The only other living thing is the horse described as “little” to show how insignificant it is as a companion. It cannot possibly offer the necessary companionship/solace that the persona requires. So clearly he feels removed from human companionship. What about God? Now if we agree that the woods symbolise death, then we can re-examine the first two lines of the poem with fresh insight. The persona suggests uncertainty about the owner of the woods – “Whose woods these are I think I know” – but paradoxically, he is very sure about where his house is to be found – “His house is in the village though”. If the owner of the woods is the owner of life and death [which the woods would symbolise in the different seasons of the year], the this owner could only be God. [House in the village clearly now referring to the church normally found in most villages in England and America]. However he is not very sure about God in his clearly depressed circumstances and he also feels that God is far away from him – “…in the village”.

So what does the persona finally decide to do? Although he finds himself drawn to death – “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” – he feels compelled to go on living because of his obligations/responsibilities: “But I have promises to keep”. The persona is clearly a man of honour. he also feels he must live out his alloted span of years: “And miles to go before I sleep” – if u consider sleep to be a euphemism for death. The repetition of this line shows how reluctant he is to go on because the desired end is not in sight – he must still be relatively young – but go on he must!

Gosh, this turned out to be longer than I intended biut like I said, I LOVE this poem. It’s an obsession!

This poem was found on Jawaharlal Nehru’s (ex Prime Ministero of India) table just after his death. Probably he was reading the poem the previous day. Maybe he was pondering over the ‘promises he had keep’

Stoppinh by Woods on a Snowy Evening is one of Robert Frost poems I ever loved. Especially the last four lines gives us a courage to face the coming ordeals in life without being coward and forgetting the thought of ending one’s life.
I try to skip through these lines during the desperate moments in my life. Poet says suicide is not the only remedy towards depression.
He conveys us to look into the world with an optimistic vision.

This poem has always given me the vizualation of an old man who has lived his life and is ready to die. As he readies himself for transition he sees that he still has more to achieve and must continue. This is a poem depicting the temporary victory of life over death.

nothing can be made without efforts and hardwork . this poem indicates the tale of horse which remind his master that he has a lot of work (to reach to his destination) by his bells(horse bells) . one should follow the message given in the poem that “donot stop till u reach ur goal” .

Robert Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening critically examines the rationality of human beings. He postulates that the intelligence of animals is far higher than that of the human beings.

The speaker stops by a wood mainly for quenching his pleasure. In a sense there is a suspension of rationality and the speaker is overwhelmed by the beauty. He forgets time and space in which he is. It is only after the horse’s bell the speaker realizes the responsibility. The poem is thus a valorization to animal’s rationality.

This poem written by Robert Frost is just nice. Its like ‘The Road Not Taken’. For me, Robert Frost is the best poet I know. His poem is simple and touching. And he adds in rhymes and rhythms to spice it up. Just nice.

Life is like coming in too late for a film,
Trying to find out what happened,
without bothering a lot of people with a lot of questions,
And then being suddenly called away
before you know how the film ends.

Yeah, this is a really nice poem. I love all Robert Frost poetry. I’m actually doing a project on it. I have to read three of his poems and do one just like it with my own words. Mine is about the sunset. It’s beautiful. These poems require thought, though. They’re really deep and emotional. U can tell how Frost feels about nature. Think about it…

Prose mechanism enabled by Robert Frost both astonishes and awes the sentiments of the reader. The global connection conjured is simplistic yet remarkable. Thus, Frost is considering the sin of suicide, but entertains the literal thought of vivid scenery of the inherent New England region. His poem is, therefore, a vehicle of compassion, depression, and distress.

Having lived in New Hampshire, I can see where his feelings are coming from. Enjoying nature is not very common, and this poem paints an image in my mind of peacefulness, and serenity. Robert Frost enjoyed the simpler things in life, like a light snowfall just as the sun sets behind the mountains, and the woods take on a beautiful look, with the bright whiteness of the snow contrasting with the dark night sky, creating a calm and subtle gray atmosphere. Yet at the same time, he is not in complete solitude, for there is a house nearby with light shining from it, showing warmth close by as a friendly reminder that he is not far from comfort, but far enough away from people to enjoy nature all by his lonesome self. Maybe he was contemplating suicide, as many people believe, but I solely believe he was dreaming of a lifetime of serenity away from it all yet in only one moments time, and as his dream fades away he is reminded of the long journey of life ahead of him before he reaches his tranquil paradise.

OK your all crack heads come on its so easy to see the truth of what this poem is really about…. He obvously playes online games and pownes all the vech lamers. He then talks about how he is a great sniper In planetside ans says how you all should kill yourselves now come on am I right or what !!:)

there is totally a subtle tone of suicidal contemplation. if one reads frost’s other work, one will see how deep his poems are. why would he suddenly take to writing about winter landscapes, especially during a low point in his life? there is definatly something more in this poem.

I can see the contemplation of suicide. How death would be like “The woods are lovely, dark and deep” He is describing a what a low point in life he is at with “The darkest evening of the year”. He changes his mind by saying “But I have promises to keep” He realizes his obligations are more important. He chooses life. Which leads to these lines “And miles to go before I sleep” He decides to keep on living.

This oem is a great piece of work. I like reading Robert Frost Poems because you can get so many things out of them. Isn’t that what poetry is about though? What a poem means is what it means ot you. On that note, I agree with all of your suggestions! I think everyone has great ideas. In fact I have my own meaning form the poem. It may not be right but I’ll state it anyway. OK, obviously form the first stanza, the narrator knows who these woods belong to a and where this person lives.From the second and third stanza, you can see that the horse is kinda funny about stopping with no sign of civilization around. Which seems kind of awkward since most places in the old time were uncivilized.From the last stanza you can tell this this poem is kinda dark.Obviously he has things to do but it kinda seems strange how he states it.So, with all of that, I think , now its just my opinion, I think the narrator is death.

I’m always suprised by people who see Robert Frost poems as complicated metaphors of life, and even more suprised when they suggest that elements of the poem are in fact imaginary. I was fortunate to live in Rural Vermont for a year some thiry years ago and I had many moments of breathtaking ephinany as the light and landscape cast up moments of esquisite beauty. Who hasn’t stood in amazement watching a particularly beautiful snowfall? I can just picture Mr. Frost driving home in his cutter as evening falls, rounding a gentle bend beside a small lake and suddenly he stops, astonished at the light and dark of the woods and the gentle sound of the breeze bourne snow. His horse would shake his bells and Frost is aware of what the horse thinks; and haven’t we all reluctantly turned away from some beautiful natural phenomenum because we have things to attend to?

I really love this poem. The combination of several elements: Frost’s rhyming scheme (aaba bbcb ccdc dddd), his use of Iambic Pentameter, and the fact that all the lines have 8 syllables work together to give this poem an eerily enchanting, almost hypnotic, tone.

THe true meaning of this poem, however, is to express Frost’s inner battle with suicide. In 1905, with 5 children to support and not nearly enough money to go around, Frost did indeed contemplate suicide. While he obviously didnt commit suicide, the feeling has most likely lingered on in him. The fact that Frost wrote this in the first person narrative only magnifies the connection between his own urges for suicide and those in the poem.

In this work, Frost shows his conflict by deviding the poem’s focus between the traveller (pro-suicide) and the horse (anti-suicide). Lines such as “The darkest evening of the year” and “And miles to go before I sleep/ And miles to go before I sleep” create a depressed, dismal tone that can reflect the urges for suicide in the poem.

The woods represent death itself; they are quiet, calm, dark and deep. While the traveller wants to stay in these woods, his horse tries to pull him away from them.

In the end, we are left hanging in regards to the travellers ultimate fate, implying that Frost himself had not yet at this point descided between suicide and life.

the poem is a perfect one.the same # of syllables in each line and it has a perfect rhyming pettern.lol.my techer mr.d told us that .idk anything about poems and their morals but that one is kind of kool.cool.whatever

Whoa! Suicide? This poem is wonderfully written, and if you look at that you’ll see that suicide is not what it is. In the first stanza (four lines) there are no hard sounds. The man is thinking with no interruptions. In the second stanza (5 thru 8) there is one hard sound. In the following one (9 thru 12) there are more than two, as his horse shakes itself, reminding him that he needs to go on and has things to do. In the last stanza, the hard sounds at the end of the lines are him reminding himself that he must get back to his work, or family, or whatever. Frost used poetic impact in some of the best ways I’ve ever seem and was an incredible poet (though I like John Donne better). If you want a creepy Frost poem read “The Pasture”.

Christmas 2004 I was looking at our Christmas books when I saw this one, and when I saw it I had to read it and it has been my favorite poem ever since. I am planning on doing this poem for my report on my favorite poem by Robert Frost. My teacher is reading other poems by Robert Frost to my class. She has a poster of The Road Not Taken!

I’m Abeer from Yemen. I’m an English Literature
student at the university. I’m in the third level and
I’ve taken this WONDERFUL poem. It was the first time
for me to raed such poem. I cannot give any comment
for the poem, because it is higher to be commented and
very easy to anderstand from the first time.
I like to be brief and accurate.
Abeer.

Christmas 2004 i was looking at our christmas books and i saw this one and i am planing on doing this poem for my report and my favorite poet is Robert Frost. My class reads poems bye Robert Frost to my class. She has a poster of The Road Not Taken!

I have always loved this poem. It speaks on so many different levels and has such pulling language. Every time that I have an assignment in English and am able to pick the poem that I write on, this is the poem that I choose!

Many years ago I was required to memorize this poem for a class recital. I never truly understood the poem then, but it always stayed with me and to this day I can still recite it. At many points in my life this poem has come back to me, perhaps that was the point, to mean something slightly different at points in life.

The woods represent our lives, which at times seem to be owned by others “Whose woods these are I think I know”. This person has stopped to reflect upon their responsibilities in life “His house is in the village, though”, not to himself, but others.

“My little horse must think it queer”, that voice inside of us that always tells us “no time for this”…and in the end accepting our responsibility, but better for the brief pause to place it in perspective…”The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”

Whenever the responsibilities of life seems to be getting heavy, and I wish to run from them this poem enters my mind, and I stop to look at the woods and gain a new perspective. Maybe it’s just my interpretation and it holds no merit. But, Thank you anyway Mr. Frost, for I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep.

i think this is a very meaningful poem which talk about a man who knows he has responsibilities to take care of and that he can’t waste any time doin other silly things. he has a life to live and make sure that every breath of his life should be sacrificed towards the lives he holds.

i read the poem and was searching the web when i found a small analysis abt the poem.

Stopping By Woods On Snowy Evening By Frost

In “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” we have a man who stops in the woods to watch the snow fall. The speaker finds these woods to escape from the everyday stresses of life. My own interpretation is that the man finds himself at a critical crossroad in his life and he flees to these woods to reflect on his life. The woods that Frost illustrates are a representation of heaven. Although the man is turning to God for guidance, he is neither in nor near a church. Even still, he believes his location is irrelevant to God, who ultimately listens no matter what. In the second stanza, the horse is only a figment of his imagination. This “horse” is, in actuality, the speaker’s own consciousness, a moment that we create something to relive the stress of our deepest emotions. It acts as an internal censor to keep us close to sanity, the value of life, and maybe even God trying to save his life. When he comes “Between the woods and frozen lake,” he finds that he is at a crossroad in life. The speaker ponders what direction to take, whether to live as the moral man that he is, or to take the easy way out by taking his own life. Frost portrays “The darkest evening of the year,” as the speaker comes to the end of his road. In the third stanza, while the speaker is giving “His harness bells a shake,” he is really contemplating and asking himself if he should go through with the suicide. The restful imagery of “lovely, dark and, deep” provides a simple, peaceful, and calm feeling that attracts the speaker to suicide. He realizes that he had “promises to keep,” but we can only hope that he decided to fulfill his obligations to God, his family, his friends, and most importantly– to himself. However, we will never know because as the poem comes to a close, there is no ending. Instead, the refrains only present a fade out and the poem is left open-ended. It is for us as readers to wonder if the speaker will create the only peacefulness that he knows or will he choose to remain the man that already exists.

i hope this will help all those who are doing a research abt the poem. Although i can’t remember the url i found the above info in you can search through search engines and find other analysis. we all have diferent views but i agree with whoever wrote the above anlysis.overall i like the poem and hoorah to frost for writing such a nice rhyming poem.

My English teacher had me to read this poem to our class back in 1953 and I have loved it ever since then and it has been an inspiration to me throughout my life. I never tried to write poetry untill this last year and I now know why this poem was so important to me. Thank you Mr. Frost so very much.

Frost tells an entire story in just 16 lines. It is a “stop and smell the roses” theme in the winter time. The feeling created of being alone in the woods insulated by the snow is one of comfort, not death. I think it is just about a guy in a hurry to get somewhere, who simply stops to take in all the great winter beauty that surrounds him.

i read this poem in my freshman year,(this year) in the ib program. imagery is very vivid and the reader really feels like they are sitting next to the night rider. it occured to me that this poem symbolizes the tumult of our daily life, and how we should stop and just “smell the roses” more often. although, we still need to “get back to business” for we cannot get too lazy. Make what you want of it, i’m not at all an expert at analyzing poems, but i have taken a liking to this one in particular.

I discussed this poem with my class of 9/10 year olds in Cardiff, Wales. None of them offered the suggestion that it was about death or suicide. Ideas offered:- Father Christmas delivering presents by horse and carriage, promising to deliver on time and not be seen.
Jack Frost covering the woodlands in white, promising not to miss anything.
A rich man has been Christmas shopping and has promised his wife and children not to be late, but the horse is slow.
How did the poem make them feel? Lonely, joyful, insecure, peaceful, calm, Christmasy.
Did they like it? All except one. They could almost feel themselves in the wood, feel the cold and experience the quiet. One wanted to throw snowballs.

Frost’s poems,if read closely, should give you a deeper understanding of reality and the human condition. Whether the speaker is a middle-aged man in limbo, a doctor, a post-man, the pizza delivery guy, Santa Claus (who has reindeer, not a “little horse”), or the human ego, the sentiment is the same. We, as fallen humans, often desire to put down our self-imposed responsibilities and give in to the seduction of nature, the call of the wild. We are so conditioned (like our horses) to fulfill our promises and be part of the “village,” or accepted by people that we “think [we] know,” that we rarely stop and admire the beauty around us. This speaker does and becomes dangerously drawn to the temptation of such beauty. But, like a good little Christian, he decides to do what he doesn’t want to do…fulfill those promises. Through this depressed speaker (notice the repetition of the last two lines, the desire to sleep), we see that we should stop and admire, but we should also give in to this desire…we may discover ourselves in those woods much more than if we just stop “by” the woods and return to our fast-paced society.

As a child of the 60 I best remember the line Miles to go before I sleep and have oftened wondered who this man might be ho had miles to go before he could sleep. I used to think of a doctor or clergyman but my 26 year old daughter,who teaches English gave me the best answer St Nicholas or Santa Clause however you chose ro call him.

im a korean and i like this poem. its a very nice poem..this site helped me with my analization of the poem. i think the persona is traveling through the woods, which is his life journey and stops for a moment to reflect or to think about his life. and after all this, he realizes that he will someday die. i think this poem telling to stop the busy and tiring life just for a while and reflect if one is enjoying it. to flashback and review his life.

hi! i am a teenager from the phils. i have read thru the comments on frost’s peom on this site and i was reminded of how deep the meaning of the poem was. honestly, i read the poem a lot of times but i never thought that one day it would struck me this hard.

you see the peom speaks a lot on the obligations we have to do, expectations to meet and works yet to be done but as the poem implies, it will never hurt to unwine and have fun for awhile.

the last line of the poem…..is very inspiring atleast for me…it tells u that what ever may be the situation jus keep walking…the essence of the poem lies in the last four lines…..
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

hi,this poem about robert kinda makes me want to cry.I am singing this song with my my chorus and we have to sing this every day.It so sad that robert died! well, bye if you read this and wants to to see me sing then come to south pointe elem. at south beach at dec. 15 at 6 thirty p.m. thanks !

we are required to write a paper about the foreign literature and i chose this poem.it’s really a good one.all the comments here have done a great help to my paper.and i have a deeper realization of it esecially about death which i have never thought about out of this poem

This is my altime favorite Frost poem. I never fully understood it until 7th grade when I read “The Wind Blows Backwards”. In that book, it tells of a senoir’s view on the poem. He explains how each line tells of some deep meaning to the narrator. I am in the process of writing an analysis on the poem for my advanced 10 english class and have greatly benifited from the comments expressed from this website.
Sara

The deep and dark woods, without a house around, represent to me Frost’s hidden, buried, denied places which contain his unaccessed fear. They are owned by a man in the village, representing the predominant part of ourselves living a busy, non-woods life, separate from, denying his “woods”. The horse symbolizing the ego, is puzzled why he is making a stop where there is no house (construct of the mind), and wants Frost get away from there, away from his fear. “Promises to keep” are his duties, not to himself, but keeping others happy i.e. not being true to himself, and “Miles to go before I sleep” represents the self-imposed trap he feels himself in, in continual doing for others, before he can have time to himself, only when he is asleep, which is a nice matephor for still not going to the woods. The draw he feels, to somehow pay homage to the cold, lonely, dark “woods” is why it speaks to all of us. Humankind has undiscovered, unclaimed huge aspects of ourselves on a deep soul level and the soul knows. It’s pull is palpable and beckons us inward, away from doing for others, living up to other’s expectations, with the sounds of its gentle calling – the sweep of easy wind and downy flake.

I, too, have heard the debate that this poem was about suicide. Frost loves to use seasons in his poems, and the fact that it’s winter in this poem certainly evokes the idea of death, or near death. Also, it takes place at night, in the dark, another image of death. The narrator is alone, except for the horse, which also can evoke a death image. If it isn’t about suicide, then it certain is about a longing for rest, a certain weariness of life.

Now that I am at a stage of life where I also have promises to keep, I can relate to this poem more than ever. It is one of my favorite. Great stuff.

Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening. My Father was a country doctor in the days when doctors were doctors. He has just gone out to a family’s home and delivered life. He is returning home, and he pauses to observe the earth rebirth herself.

There has been a lot of debate as to whether this poem is a contemplation of suicide. Frost himself denied this, but the language is evocative.

One note I’ve never seen on this poem – “Whose woods these are, I think I know. His house is in the village; though…”
There is one house you will find in the heart of every New England village. It is the church.

The simplicity of the scene is what makes the poem so attractive. The rhythm makes it a wonderful piece to read. Though it may not seem to have much depth, it will come across as a truly insightful and beautiful poem after some analyzation.

This poem was great. I think it was actually about a man on the brink of death, who decides that he wants get home and say goodbye before the Lord takes him home.
p.s. Im actualy from Hong Kong, but that wasn’t listed on the country list

The woods are lovely dark and deep – this one poignant line is the essence of our longing for meaning to our lives, for peace, for escape, for the ability to find answers to life’s mysteries, to find a way to please our Creator before He takes us home. The secret yearning in our soul for escape from our everyday world, to find our rightful place, carries with it a fear of the unknown ~ only a few turn off the road into those lovely, dark, deep woods.

This, to me, is a perfect poem. Yes, it can be seen as foreshadowing death, but in a calm and contented mood. I spent some of my working years as a truck driver and the last three lines are engraved on a driver’s coffee mug that I still have.

Poetry has never been my long suit, but beautiful examples such as this give me hope.

I have done mortuary and coroner’s work. I do not see death in this. As a former forester I see one who has stopped to smell a winter rose, as it were. I love this time of year, and the quiet that a snowfall brings in the woods. I think at times I can hear the impact of the flakes as they land on the covering of snow! Such pauses seem to me to be good for the soul.

Let me say also that I appreciate the input from a good preacher. All beauty is from God, and He uses it well, even as He here replenishes the water table and cares for the forest’s need of moisture.

Mr Frost seems to have some connection with his horse. I think it whimsical that he reads the animal’s probable thoughts, which may be reasonable——as such animals do become accustomed to certain routines.

Eventually, sad to say, such little interludes do end, even as we regain our momentum and move on to our appointed tasks. But I think it is important to remember to pause at times, to appreciate things of this kind. The world will always be there clamoring for our attention and work. So we must decide on our own to take these opportunities.

THIS POEM TEACHES US TO FULFILL OUR PROMISES AS HE SAID.IN MY OPINION, THE POET MENT BY PROMISES THE CORRECTION OF OUR SELF TOWARD GOD OR PEOPLE BEFORE DYING.DEATH IS LOVELY,DARK,AND DEEP AND LIFE IS LIKE A JOURNEY

stopping by the woods on a snowing evening was the first poem that i ever read my frost. This poem introduced me to a world of wonderful language which i try to convey in my own writing. Robert frost is one of the best american poets of all time and he should be read by everyone. This poem really intrests me because the is a an amazing use of imagery and rhyme scheme. I also like how if you look at from a literaty view it is really open ended. I think that is could possible be about Santa clause in some small diminutive way. Read the poem again with that in mind and a whole new meaning comes to you. The last line really makes that idea valid for me ” I have miles to go before i sleep and miles to go before i sleep.” We also should strive to have a little bit of the magic that frost conveys in his poem.

This poem, by Robert Frost, brings back pleasant memories to my time as a student at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium when I took a course in American Literature. I really did love Frost, the more so because, being a country boy myself, his poems were so close to my own experencies growing up on the country side. Besides, Stopping by Woods, is the only American poem I still know by heart. Thanks Robert.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is the first Robert Frost poem I ever read. It was introduced to me by a wonderful English literature teacher who so obviously loved the poet and the poem. As I have learned more about Frost and his poetry my admiration and respect for him has grown, but Stopping by Woods has remained my favourite.

The unusual AABA rhyme scheme is symbolic of moving forward, yet taking pieces of the past with us. Moving on is important, but we need to continually look back so we can assess our progress. Of course, in the last stanza, the AAAA pattern is in keeping with the theme of death, where there is no looking back.

David’s comments about Neal A. Maxwell are so poignant. I too am grateful for the example of a life well-lived and for these two wonderfully inspired men; one a poet, the other a prophet. And I am also grateful for the knowledge that the world is still full of equally inspired men, from whom we can learn, if we only take the time to stop and listen.

As I ponder the meaning of this poem, I am grateful for the simple pleasures of life including moments of serious, serene, spiritual, reflection like this one described by Frost. I am grateful to have many more miles to travel although at times it may seem drudgery. The person, that I would like to call a friend, although I only met him once in passing, that introduced me to this poem, died last month after enduring many years of illness. Their were no regrets in his life that he voiced. In April of this year he gave his last sermon of many that I heard and he referenced this poem. He spoke with the wisdom expressed after traveling the many miles before he slept. So, I would just like to express my gratitude for this poem and the God given inspiration that stirred it in Robert Frost’s soul. May we all travel the many miles we have been given with joy for the journey as my friend Neal A. Maxwell expressed by a life well lived and many miles well traveled. He was truly an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ as he testified to so many. I will miss his example of well living through right thinking.
David S. Peterson

Frost instantly puts you securly in a one-horse open sleigh in the middle of a semi-familiar wooded, dark, snowy night. His metrical use of language instills in each of us who read and think about what he’s imparting, we become cognizant of the feeling of a lonely union with our spiritual and practical nature. As another wordsmith once “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t mess with Mr. Inbetween, (from Johnny Mercer’s song of the same name). No matter what your perceived circumstances remember “And I have miles to go before I sleep” or as another poet put it “rage against the dying of the light”.

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